Primo Levi

“I immersed myself in The Periodic Tablegladly and gratefully. There is nothing superfluous here, everything this book contains is essential. It is wonderful pure, and beautifully translated…I was deeply impressed.”

"One of the questions I continue to hear involves the roles and responsibilities of the Dean in contrast to that of the new Executive Vice Dean. Underlying the question, there appears to be a concern that the Medical School deserves the attention of a full-time Dean." Frank Cerra

[That would be yes...]

__________

BE IT RESOLVED: That the University Senate of the University of Minnesota disapproves the Provost’s plan to dissolve the Graduate School as announced in the Feb. 9. 2009 memorandum;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: That the University Senate demands that any proposal to dissolve or otherwise to restructure the Graduate School comply with the University of Minnesota Policy on Reorganization.

[from motion passed by U of M Faculty Senate, 30 April 2009]

_______________________

It is widely recognized that the manner in which the plan to reorganize the Graduate School was decided violated all the norms of wide-spread consultation and faculty involvement in major decisions in the University.

The precedent is alarming if it portends the future of the University as a highly centralized bureaucratic decision-making apparatus that excludes the faculty from any meaningful participation.

__

Finally, an explanation for why the president [OurCEO] of the University of Minnesota...

In an e-mail obtained by The Minnesota Daily, University spokesman Dan Wolter encouraged faculty to consult with the University News Service before commenting on potential cuts.“Should you have something you’d like to share with [The Minnesota Daily] at this point, I’d urge you to consult with me or your News Service representative before responding,” Wolter said in the e-mail.“Also, if you need someone to tell them you’re declining comment, we’re happy to do that.”

_A letter signed by 18 current and former University of Minnesota Regents professors will not be enough to halt the reconstruction [sic] of the Graduate School, despite the professors’ specific request to postpone the measure.

“There was no prior consultation with faculty,” the letter states. “Only the collegiate deans — who report directly to the senior vice presidents and depend on them for their budgets — had any advance notice that this was taking place. None of the senior administrators — not even the dean — had any advance warning.” Minnesota Daily

___...to go ahead and wipe out the grad school without consulting the community — it’s really shocking,” said Kristi Kremers, president of the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly at Minnesota. ___"I think we need a moratorium on "US News & World Report" rankings," he wrote. "We need to set aside these childish things.We need to focus more on what matters most. The ranking race drives institutions to spend money on various areas other than instruction and intellectual capital, to attract students."

William MessingProfessor, School of MathematicsUniversity of Minnesota(response to OurLeader's Spring Spam: 1/20/08)

...the panel recommends that the Dean consider undertaking an investigation to examine whether Dr. Furcht committed misconduct under Section 10 of the Faculty Tenure Code. This section includes the following ground as a basis for suspension, termination, or other disciplinary action against a faculty member:

"Egregious or repeated misuse of the powers of a professional position to solicit personal benefits or favors."Faculty Tenure Code, Section 10.21(c).12-19-03, Report of Inquiry Panel Regarding Dr. Leo Furcht Conflict of Interest

The clueless, insular way in which Furcht was appointed, and Furcht’s continued mindless arrogance, tells you all you need to know about the culture out of which endemic conflict of interest emerges in universities all over the country.Margaret Soltan, University Diaries

… in the Minneapolis Star Tribune notes that the most charitable description of what’s been going on at the clubby University of Minnesota medical school would be “bizarre.”

A professor [Leo T. Furcht] who is leading the University of Minnesota Medical School's effort to write tougher ethics rules was himself disciplined in 2004 for secretly steering a $501,000 research grant to his own company, according to university investigative reports obtained by the Star Tribune. (XII-121-08)

[Medical School Dean] Powell said Friday she did not inform the rest of the task force members about the sanctions against Furcht. "I did not think it was relevant," she said.

Frank Cerra, the university's senior vice president for health sciences, said Friday he was familiar with the case but couldn't recall details. He said Furcht's experience could help inform the conflict-of-interest committee's work.

A panel of three faculty members investigated and concluded that Furcht "committed a serious violation of the conflict of interest policy," according to a Dec. 19, 2003, report.

Among other things, they found that Furcht "knew or should have known" that he was required to disclose the financial arrangement with Baxter, because he had "a significant financial interest" in MCL and the stem-cell technology.

"In fact, it appears Dr. Furcht stands to personally gain several million dollars from the pending sale of MCL," the report said.

In November 2003, Furcht sold MCL for $9.5 million in stock, sharing 5 percent of the proceeds with the university.

---

“I think we have more administration than we need,”he said. “We need to simplify processes … and ask whether we need all the administration at all the levels.”President Bruininks - Daily, December 4, 2008

"As many of you realize, we live in a knowledge-based economy in which our fundamental mission as a University must be deployed in service of the broader transnational learning process."Provost Thomas Sullivan, November 19, 2008University of Minnesota President Robert Bruininks is among the best-paid university presidents in the United States. Salary and benefits of $733,421 landed him spot No. 7 on a list of public university presidents with the highest compensation released this week by the Chronicle of Higher Education.

University spokesman Daniel Wolter said that Bruininks does not comment on his compensation but said he was "quite surprised he ranked as high as he did."(Star Tribune, XI-21-08)_______

"The $70 million needed to complete the changes [to Northrop] will come from a combination of private donors and a University bonding authority."

“The University has decided not to bring this project as, if you will, a line-item like the Bell Museum, to the state Legislature,” Rosenstone said. Daily, October 27, 2008

What's distinctive about the University of Minnesota, compared to many other universities in our society, is that we were chartered initially as a research [sic] and land grant university, if you look at the early history of the University. President Bruininks (10/22/08, Daily)

(That would be NO, Bob...)

"The University is not being paid money owed to it, reports are not generated, and so on; unless there is a clear message that these problems [with EFS] will be resolved in the next two-three months, the situation will reflect badly on the entire central administration." Senate Committee on Finance and Planning (9/23/08)

At the departmental level, I can say that no innovation at UM over the past 20 years has been so expensive in human hours. Staff in our college now do virtually nothing but thrash at EFS, curse, and plan early retirement. (comment on PTII, 10/2908)

“I don’t think anybody should put a dime into the University of Minnesota unless we use the money well, we invest it well and that we’re efficient in how we use resources.” Robert Bruininks (Daily - 9/26/08)

"The leftwing nut professors just never quit. Keep drinking that fair trade coffee. Keep charging the U of M for their blog work..."

Anonymous reader comment: 9/19/08______

"It's one thing if you're bringing in a criminal to speak. But if someone's under investigation, that's fair game," he [Parente] said.

Parente said his approach to McGuire was along the lines of: "We don't really care about the stock options. You know stuff. Tell us what you think."

It would be pretty much negligent on my part not to attempt to engage him [Dr. William McGuire.]"

Stephen Parente, director of the Medical Industry Leadership Institute in the Carlson School of Management

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"Obviously, the situation that happened to Francois Sainfort and Julie Jacko has not been a positive one for us," Finnegan said. (Strib, 30 August '08)

Have they been charged, tried or convicted of anything either here or in Minnesota? No? Well that does it, then. They must be guilty. Whatever happened to getting your day in court? [finne001, Aug. 30, comment on Strib article above]